The present invention relates to a sterilizer.
An isolator isolated from external air is connected to an incubator so as to perform a predetermined pretreatment on cells to be cultured by the incubator in a sterilized manner. A sterilization box isolated from external air is connected to this isolator so as to sterilize the cells or articles necessary for cultivation before the cells or articles are brought in the isolator (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-301138A).
This sterilization box includes sterilizing means such as a sterilization gas generator. For example, an operator first brings the cells or the articles in a chamber of the sterilization box in a state where a door which isolates a chamber of the isolator from the chamber of the sterilization box is closed, and sterilizes the cells or the articles in the chamber of the sterilization box. Next, the operator opens the door and brings in the cells or the articles which have been sterilized in the chamber of the sterilization box, in the chamber of the isolator which is maintained in a sterile state.
The term “perform a predetermined pretreatment in a sterilized manner” means that the pretreatment is performed in a sterile environment. The term “sterile environment” refers to a nearly dust-free and bacteria-free environment for preventing mixture of materials other than materials necessary for the operation. The term “sterilization” indicates a processing for establishing the sterile environment.
The sterilization includes 1) a pretreatment process, 2) a gas exposure process, and 3) a substitution process. Specifically, 1) the pretreatment process is a preparation process including a leakage test of a sterilization target space and performed before sterilization gas is supplied, 2) the exposure process is a process for supplying the sterilization gas to the sterilization target space, and 3) the substitution process is a process in which the sterilization gas remained in the sterilization target space is detoxified, discharged, and substituted with external air.
For example, after the cells cultured by the incubator are brought out of the sterilization box through the isolator, the isolator may be sterilized again. In this case, in the isolator and the sterilization box described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-301138A, sterilization gas is generated from a sterilization gas generator in a state where the door which isolates the chamber of the isolator and the chamber of the sterilization box and is introduced into the chamber of the isolator through the chamber of the sterilization box for sterilization of the chamber of the isolator. With this configuration, however, the sterilization efficiency is unsatisfactory, and thus it takes a lot of time to perform sterilization processing.
Meanwhile, if the sterilizing means is also provided in the isolator, the sterilization efficiency in the chamber is improved, but two the sterilizing means are provided separately in the isolator and the sterilizer, which leads to as much of an increase in equipment cost.